Although some channels have been removed, the curation process is considered opaque and insufficient by analysts. In 2018, Russia banned Telegram although it reversed the prohibition two years later. In the past, it was noticed that through bulk SMSes, investors were induced to invest in or purchase the stocks of certain listed companies. Artem Kliuchnikov and his family fled Ukraine just days before the Russian invasion. Messages are not fully encrypted by default. That means the company could, in theory, access the content of the messages, or be forced to hand over the data at the request of a government.
from fr